I bring this up because of the grief I feel for Tony. Tony is not a part of my congregation. He is, in fact, a Roman Catholic who was looking forward to going to Italy next year to see his daughter marry. However, our differences in our beliefs does not change the fact that Tony is a kind and gentle man, who is a hard worker and loves his wife as dearly as any man can. When he was working on our patio, he never ceased regaling my wife with stories about how long he had known Janis and how much he was still head over heels in love with her. My wife truly enjoyed hearing the stories from Tony and felt a friendship with him and Janis even though she had not met Janis. Now, Tony has lost his partner and friend.
I didn't know Janis well. She worked where I did for many years, and I met her a few times, but I didn't get to know her as well as I do Tony. Still, I am terribly torn by this loss. The main part of my pain comes from knowing how I would feel if I lost my wife. Even though I have the hope of the resurrection and I know that I would see her again, the feeling of emptiness and loss would be devastating. That's how I imagine Tony feels. I pray that he finds comfort, and that I can help if possible. But that seems like a small chance. The sheer number of family and friends who have been concerned with Janis' condition has been incredible. And yet, no group of people can take the place of the single person whose life has been lost in such a horrible and pointless manner.
To those of you who drive, may I please ask a favor? Don't rush to get through a yellow light. Don't think that you can sneak through a red light. Stopping when you are supposed to won't cost you that much time. Rushing through can have a much higher cost. It can cost a life. A life that never should have been forfeited. And now, the driver that hit her and the children who were with him will have to live forever with the knowledge that it was their vehicle that killed another human being.
Please watch how you are driving. You aren't invincible, and neither is anyone else. And the pain of loss is more devastating than you can imagine.
It can change many lives forever...and never for the better.
8 comments:
Adam, I am very sorry for your loss and your friends loss. No matter how strong our faith is..there is still loss and sadness. Sounds like the Himmel Family has had a rough couple of days..and the Guess Family is very sorry for that. See you guys tomorrow night..
It hasn't been as rough for us as it has for Tony. It just makes you realize how quickly it can be taken away, and why we need to be so careful when we drive. We also need to be careful that we don't take those we love for granted.
What an unbelievably sad and terrible loss. Irresponsible drivers are on the rampage. A boy my exact age just rear-ended my grandmother this week, landing her in the hospital. She's relatively alright now, but I heard the reason he wasn't paying attention is because he was closing his lunchbox. People need to realize the possible consequences for the smallest distractions in the car. I can't imagine if we had to go through what this poor man is going through.
Adam, I am troubled by your psoting and use of a dear freinds loss as a reason to promote any agenda. Janis was an amazing woman and one I was proud to call my dear freind for over 35 years. She was sweet and precious in our Lords eyes and a dear wife to Tony. She is greatly missed and is and will always be greatly loved. As aChristian I know I will see Jan aagain in heaven and our Lord is holding her now. Please respect her life and her family's loss.
You clearly misunderstand my reason for posting what I did. I have known Tony for 15 years now, and am sincerely sorry for what he is now facing. You seem to think that there is an agenda for what I wrote. The only agenda I have is to encourage people to be careful on the streets and to appreciate their family.
You say that you are a Christian. I am glad to hear that. I'm sure that you and I could go back and forth on the comfort that the Bible gives, but that is not what I try to do on this blog.
I am truly saddened by the loss of Janis. If you read anything else into that, I am sorry that you didn't get the point of my words. Please re-read them and try to understand that my sympathy for Tony, his children, and the friends and family of Janis is sincere.
One more thing...
If you want to post a comment where you take issue with something I write, at least have the courtesy to use your name. I approved your comment because I felt that you deserved to have your feelings posted. But next time, please don't simply use anonymous as your name.
Adam it is clear that you are saddened by the loss of your friend, and I hope that her family will be able to move on knowing that they will once again see her one day. However, you were not at the intersection that day and do not know what actually happened. There is no need to try and make the man and his grandsons out to be horrible people or try and make them feel as if it is their fault that Janis lost her life. It just happened and pointing fingers at people will not change the outcome of what has happened. You should focus on Janis and her family and stop pointing your finger at someone when you don't know what happened!
I'm not sure why I'm posting another anonymous comment. I'm beginning to feel that it is a sign of cowardice.
Who, for crying out loud, is trying to make the man a villain?? Can you point out anywhere in my posting that I did that? SOMEone ran a light. I'm not saying that it was one or the other. However, if you can say with a straight face that people should not take this as a lesson to be careful when driving, then you should not be on the road yourself.
Frankly, I am fed up with overly righteous people who think that they can dictate to me what I should or should not feel. Do YOU know what happened? Do YOU think people should be allowed to drive with anything less than full caution?
Try this: ride a motorcycle on the streets of any relatively busy city or town. I guarantee you will get an up close and personal look at the lack of attention paid by some drivers.
The fact that you respond how you do, and that you do so anonymously, tells me a couple of things: you clearly did not read the posting carefully, but instead just assumed what you wanted to; and that you feel superior by trying to tell other people what to think and do.
I apologize to others for the harshness of this rant, but I'm fed up with anonymous postings and people who post without reading carefully.
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